At our October full council meeting, Test Valley councillors will vote on motion that raises significant concerns about the government’s decision to remove the Winter Fuel Allowance from the vast majority of pensioners in the borough.

This year only about 1.5m pensioners will be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment across the country, down from 11.4m when the payment was universal - and affecting over 25,000 pensioners in Test Valley.

If passed, the motion will commit the council to signing the ‘Save the Winter Fuel Payment for Struggling Pensioners’ petition being run by Age UK and to writing to the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves to ask that the government at the very least protect those pensioners who are just above the threshold for Pension Credit from fuel poverty this winter.

Whilst I recognise that not every pensioner needs the payment (indeed over the past couple of years we have run a scheme in conjunction with Unity and the CAB, which enables those that are better off to donate it locally to support those most in need), I’m shocked that those on as low an income as £12k or £13k a year simply won’t qualify.

The means testing is essentially far too narrow with Age UK warning this will have a really profound impact on over 2m pensioners nationwide who will have to make a choice between heating and eating.

So, as well as writing to the Chancellor, we are also looking to provide practical support. Promoting a better uptake of Pension Credit and looking at how we can repurpose some of the money left over in our Cost-of-Living grant scheme to support the most vulnerable pensioners this winter. Watch this space for more details.

In happier news, I’m pleased to let readers know that the new government have now confirmed our £18.3m Levelling Up Fund grant obtained under the previous government.

When Labour came to power, I was concerned their commitment to review every piece of capital expenditure meant that our Andover town centre regeneration plans were in jeopardy. Especially as we had signed the Memorandum of Understanding, but no significant amount of money had yet been transferred.

I wrote to Local Government Minister, Jim McMahon on the matter and to be fair to him his department replied fairly quickly reassuring us and making the first significant payment.

I only wish the Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, would follow his lead.

I mentioned in my article last time that I had written to ministers about transitional arrangements for the government’s new planning reforms to try and ensure we’re not caught by the risk of speculative development in Test Valley. No response has so far been received, but I will keep pressing the case.

Cllr Phil North

Leader of Test Valley Borough Council

Bourne Valley Ward Councillor

County Councillor for Andover South

 

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